electrical issues?? xj550

ok so i have reaplced my battery, solenoid, and spark plugs, checked the starter and its still spinning. but the bike still wont turn over. and it seems now that im not getting any spark. also recently my start button is basically not working/works when it wants to. the engine will try to start if i connect the towers on the solenoid but wont get it started. all my fuses are good; thought hey are the tube type.(any one have a good write up on how to replace this to blade style?) so im thinking that i might have a bad ground or a dying wire somewhere? but im not sure where to start looking or how to test for bad wires. i have a multimeter but dont know what setting to use or exactly how to test the wires... so basically im at a loss

the bike is getting fuel, petcock works, carbs are filling. replaced valves shims, did an oil change, new spark plugs, battery, solenoid.

 

Re: electrical issues xj550

Man, you said you were close and with how far away I am, I can say Im a little sad to see you having this issue. If you are testing wires themselves, you can use the continuity tester (it will b the thing that is an arrow with several lines behind) or you can use resistance, which is the horseshoe looking thing (ohm). With continuity usually you can get a "beep" or a one if the wire is good from one end to the other, however this does not mean that your old connectors are all connecting properly. With resistance it depends on your multimeter. Push the two leads together and see what it gives you as an answer, you should be looking for that, or a really low value.

One thing that I would try, and this is really weird but worked on our snowmobile, try warming (with a blow torch) the CDI box. It takes very little moisture to ruin this particular piece, and we spent days checking everything only to find that the CDI was failing, I would try that. Of course your are not trying to melt it! Cheers

- Chris